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Saturday, May 06, 2017

Poor Italians

More than one in four people in Italy are at risk of poverty or social exclusion, Oxfam said. As the economy stutters, it said, some 4.6 million (7.6%) people are "absolutely poor", meaning one in 13 do not have enough food, clothing, a heated home or the means to look after themselves, keep informed and educate themselves.One in 10 minors are affected, a figure that has trebled over te last 10 years, Oxfam said in its report, titled Italians, Poor People.

a family made up of two parents and two children under the age of 10 lives in absolute poverty if its monthly budget for essential items falls at or below 1,534.26 euros (1,686.79 U.S. dollars) in the North and 1,184.74 euros in the South. The essential items are listed as education, food, health care, housing, and transportation.

n March this year, the jobless rate for youth aged 15-24 stood at 34.1 percent, down from 37.1 percent one year ago and 42.8 percent in March 2015, according to Istat. Overall unemployment stood at 11.7 percent, compared to 9.5 percent in the eurozone.

Oxfam Italy also noted the widening gap between rich and poor where in 1988-2011, the income of the richest 10 percent rose faster than that of the poorer 50 percent.